Manot massacre

The Manot massacre occurred on 18 July 1974 when a four-man PFLP commando, taking orders from Suhail el-Nazar, crossed the border from South Lebanon into Israel and attacked the moshav of Manot, killing 22 people and injuring 15. Turki al-Abdou, Silmi al-Azer, Bakar al-Ebrahim, and Shamil el-Afzal snuck across the Lebanese border and stole a civilian vehicle near Adamit, and they proceeded to drive south to the town of Manot. The attackers decided to take hostages and demand the release of Palestinian prisoners, and they stormed a cafe in Manot during lunchtime. The attackers opened fire on the patrons on the first floor with AKM assault rifles as they lobbed grenades, and al-Azer was shot in the head by an Israeli security guard before the guard was gunned down by the other attackers. With al-Azer dead, the other attackers resolved to massacre the remainder of the civilians on the first floor before heading upstairs to the upstairs lounge. al-Abdou and al-Ebrahim headed upstairs as al-Afzal covered the downstairs area. al-Afzal emptied his assault rifle into cowering patrons as they attempted to hide from him, while al-Abdou and al-Ebrahim took hostages on the second floor. al-Ebrahim headed to the window to watch for police, and he spotted several Israeli police cars and army trucks arrive. al-Afzal took cover in the doorway to the downstairs television room, and he lobbed a grenade at the soldiers as they entered the building through the front doorway. The soldiers responded with gunfire, killing al-Afzal. al-Ebrahim was also killed while trading fire with the soldiers from an upstairs balcony. al-Abdou, the last surviving guerrilla, holed himself up on the top floor of the building with the hostages, and he emptied his assault rifle into the surrounding hostages before killing himself with a grenade. The brutal attack left 20 hostages and 2 Israeli soldiers dead and 15 people wounded, and the attack led to Israel launching bombing raids on PFLP bases in South Lebanon.